CHICAGO, IL -- From American Seating to Steelcase, many of West Michigan's office furniture companies are unveiling new products and new concepts at NeoCon 2012, which kicks off this morning.

The three-day trade show at Chicago's Merchandise Mart will draw tens of thousands from national design and architecture firms to see the latest products.

This year’s NeoCon may be the most important in recent history.

It's not about unveiling a new product, but rather the office furniture industry coming to a crossroads, said Rob Kirkbride, furniture industry expert. Mobile devices, from laptops to tablets, have broken the tether that tied workers to their desks for decades.

“People can work anywhere. So if that’s the case, why would I want to go into the office to work?” said Kirkbride, who covers the office furniture industry for the Chicago-based trade publication Monday Morning Quarterback. “What office furniture companies need to do is create something so compellingly that I would choose it instead of working in a coffee shop or from home.”

Rob Kirkbride

West Michigan’s big three office furniture companies are taking different paths to answer that question, Kirkbride said.

Julie Smith, Haworth spokeswoman, says the Holland-based manufacturer is wary of tying its furniture too closely to technology because it changes so quickly. Devices on desks that hold iPads, for example, can become outdated if a new version of the technology changes size or even switches around where it plugs into a charger.

"You want a balance, because furniture has a lot longer lifecycle than technology," Smith said.

Steelcase, which is introducing several new technology concept products at NeoCon, remains true to its roots by providing human insight into how people work most effectively.

"We want to help the needs of people drive the technology," said Chris Congdon, Steelcase spokeswoman.

“I think it’s going be one of the most important NeoCons, not because of products but where office furniture companies are positioning themselves,” said Kirkbride, who began covering those companies as business reporter with The Grand Rapids Press. “There’s going to be winners and losers.”

“It’s on a very steady pattern of furniture being sold,” said Dunlap, who publishes the results of a quarterly survey of office furniture makers and their suppliers. “It’s not growing and it’s not shrinking. I would say the industry is in good shape.”